The Albanese Government has tabled long-promised reforms to Australia’s nature laws and wants federal parliament to pass them by Christmas. But, as currently written, these reforms could make things worse, not better, for Australian wildlife.
In the bills the Government has tabled to reform the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, old loopholes for deforestation and shark culling remain and new loopholes have been introduced. Rules to stop habitat destruction are not clear enough, and ministers can choose to sidestep them. There is a dangerous new ‘pay to destroy’ offsets fund and perhaps most dangerous of all, decisions for nationally threatened species and places can be handed back to states and territories who are often ill-equipped and unwilling to protect them.
Australia has waited 25 years for such reforms and the bills contain some good proposals, so we are not writing them off. The future of our nation’s wildlife depends on what happens in Parliament in the next few weeks.
Send an urgent email to your federal MP and senator and ask them to support amendments to the EPBC Act that nature needs.
